Various industrial manufacturing processes often result in unwanted gaseous by-products that must be disposed of prior to releasing the gases to the environment. For example, foundry cores and molds are cured in the chemical core making or cold box process through the utilization of dimethylethylamine gas (hereafter DMEA) and the gas, after being utilized in the process of curing the foundry core, has previously been exhausted to the atmosphere. Similarly, in the "exothermic" or "hot process" for making conventional foundry cores, exhaust gases having high quantities of noxious gases, such as formaldehyde and phenols, have previously been passed directly into the atmosphere. However, these gases have objectionable odors and contain constituents which have serious detrimental effects on the environment. To the same detrimental effect are the exhaust gases from processes for forming shell sand cores, arc welding operations as well as many other industrial facilities.
Various forms of gas deodorizers and gas washing apparatuses have heretofore been designed, some of which are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 242,368, 411,014, 1,182,543, 3,183,645, 3,811,249 and 3,895,926. Reference should also be made to the prior art cited in connection with our above-identified parent application, e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,750,800, 2,250,226, 3,216,181, French Pat. No. 543,412, and Italian Pat. No. 566,593. Moreover, most gas washing and deodorizing apparatus have been designed to perform specific functions in specific operating environments, and are not well suited to perform different functions in other environments, particularly the removal of noxious gases from the exhaust streams from foundry core and shell sand core manufacturing processes, arc welding operations and many other industrial plants.